OSBORNE: Hamels should be a Roberts, not a Schilling

AP Photo
Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee congratulates starting pitcher Cole Hamels, center as outfielder Hunter Pence looks on after Hamels retired the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning on Sunday, Hamels gave up six hits over eight innings to earn the victory as the Phils defeated the Roackies.

When it comes to baseball legends, there’s guys like Mike Schmidt, and guys like Wade Boggs.

Mike Schmidt spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Phillies, meaning he forever belongs to the fans of Philadelphia. No other team can claim him or say that they had his better years.

Schmidt started with the Phillies and ended with them. He won all of his home run titles, MVPs and his lone championship with them. So when it came time for Cooperstown, picking the cap for his bust was an easy task.

Then there’s Boggs.

He tried to sell his Hall of Fame cap to the Devil Rays – for whom he got his 3,000th hit – presumably for two reasons. First, he is a Tampa native, and second, he didn’t want to have to make that impossible choice between the Red Sox and Yankees.

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Now, thanks to Boggs’ shenanigans, that choice is out of the hands of players.

The bronze Boggs is wearing a Red Sox cap, but he is not seen as a true Red Sox, nor a true Yankee.

Such is the nature of modern baseball, where guys go for the money and end up on multiple teams.

Gary Sheffield will one day be a candidate for induction, but which of his eight caps will honor this all-time great mercenary?

That is an extreme example, of course, but I started wondering about all this as I pondered Cole Hamels’ possible departure from the Phillies, which could come in the next couple of weeks.

Hamels is still a young pitcher, despite his many accomplishments. Right now, he’s a Phillie, through and through. He was the leader of the 2008 World Series champions. He has a better WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first seven years than Steve Carlton or Robin Roberts had.

And he’s always been Philly’s guy.

There’s still hope that he could be signed to a new deal in the near future, but that hope is dwindling.

Rumor has it that the team will offer Hamels a deal similar to what they offered Cliff Lee for about $120 million.

That’s not enough, and Hamels will reject it.

In Monday’s column, I said six or seven years for at least $170 million would get it done. I stick by those numbers. If Hamels signs for less, he is leaving a lot of cash on the famous “table” we’re always hearing about.

So if this rumor is true, the Hamels Era is over.

And yes, Hamels is worth his own era.

So few pitchers are, as when it comes to the Phillies, there are five others that come to mind, including Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robin Roberts, Jim Bunning and Steve Carlton.

That’s precious few pitching “eras” for a team that’s been around since 1883.

You’ll note that I left someone out of my list of five pitching eras. That’s the often-forgotten Curt Schilling Era.

Remember him?

Most people don’t think about that fact that he may very well go into the Hall of Fame as a Phillie – and he can’t even seem to get on the Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park. (He was passed over this year in favor of Mike Lieberthal, who was a nice catcher but will not be going to Cooperstown unless he has a ticket.)

Looking into the future, I see a bust of Schilling in the Hall, and a small child in a Red Sox or Diamondbacks cap asking, “When was he with the Phillies, Dad?”

Let’s hope this fate doesn’t befall Hamels, who could easily build a legacy somewhere else because the Phillies weren’t prepared to do what was necessary to keep him.

And that is a shame.

— Matthew Osborne is the sports editor of The Trentonian. He can be reached at 609-989-7800, ext. 250, or mosborne@trentonian.com. Follow him on Twitter @trentonianozzy.